Proof positive that everyone is hopping on the CGI animation bandwagon: The first in a series of animated Bible feature films will be hitting the big screen next month:

American Cinema Int’l has announced that its animated feature, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, is set for a U.S. theatrical release on Oct. 19, 2007. The film will have its market debut during this year’s American Film Market.

The CG feature is the first in a branded twelve-film series from Promenade Pictures, the family driven production and distribution outfit established by former studio head Frank Yablans. The film also marks the company’s entry into the U.S. theatrical distribution arena.

It’s not as though they’re starting out with some unknowns and hoping for the best, either:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is voiced by Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley (narrator), Christian Slater (Moses), Alfred Molina (Ramses) and Academy Award nominee Elliott Gould (God). The film is directed by Bill Boyce (HERMIE & FRIENDS) and John Stronach (BEN HUR, CAHOOTS) from a screenplay by Ed Naha (HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS).

Still… a twelve-film series? I don’t know how to say this without stepping into sticky territory, so I’ll just blurt it out: I have trouble believing there’s a market for a dozen animated bible stories intended for cinema release. Direct to DVD? Sure. A couple of films to the theater? Okay. But a full dozen animated bible stories for a mainstream audience? I’m surprised.

Then again, I prefer that my animated bible stories feature animated salad ingredients, so take my opinion for what it is—an opinion.

Regardless, a move such as this says something about the industry. I’m just not entirely sure what, yet. I guess maybe we have to wait and see how the first film goes over.

Curious? You can learn more about the upcoming The Ten Commandments over at the Epic Stories of the Bible website (be aware that the site has sound). The movie’s trailer bills the film as “an animated movie event for the entire family,” but I’m not sure smaller kids are going to agree.

I’m looking forward to the reactions to this one. I hope for Promenade Picture’s sake (and, uh, I guess for Moses’ sake?) that it’s a really good movie.

I started to leave a comment on this one, and then realized that I actually had more to say than would fit in a single comment. (What, me wordy? Shocking, I know.) So rather than clutter up Ashley’s comments with my long-windedness, I figured I’d bring it over here. And clutter up the blog instead. No need to thank me!

Okay. The post in question is this one over at Children’s Media Consultant, in which Ashley (whom some of you may recognize as an occasional commenter here, which is how I found her) asks a very interesting question: With all of the teaching that kids’ television does, why isn’t it addressing environmental issues more often?

She says:

Although the inhabitants of our world are diverse, the one thing we all have in common is the planet on which we live. We share the same sky, the same oceans, the same soil. And all of it is in danger. In order to tackle issues that have and will continue to affect each and every one of us — like global warming, animal extinction, pollution, conservation, etc. — we must embrace an “eco” frame of mind. If the next generation learns to make a minor, habitual change — by practicing recycling, for instance, even on the most local level — there is the potential to make a huge impact on the global environment.

To which I (uncharacteristic brevity though it may be) can only say “amen.” Yes. But after discussing the relative paucity of shows which teach environmental responsibility (Captain Planet and It’s a Big Big World being the most notable offerings), Ashley asks:

Why do you think there is so little on this topic on kid’s TV? Is TV (as an indoor, inactive medium) the right place to teach ecology?

Alright, here’s what I think: I think that when shows teach kids how to read, or how to do math, everyone says, “Yay, learning!” I think that when a show tries to teach kids that the safety of the planet is in jeopardy, people say, “Boo, alarmists!” Even educational shows have to be non-controversial, and as there are still folks out there insisting that ecological concerns are a political matter (because it’s not about preserving the planet we live on, oh no, it’s all about what party you vote for!), I think it becomes a dicey matter to teach mindful ecology.

I also think that’s really, really sad, but it’s what I suspect to be the reason behind the lack of such shows. And think about it—what’s been the public reaction to entertainment that does carry such messages? The backlash against Happy Feet for being a “movie with an agenda” was not inconsiderable. With Arctic Tale coming out soon, I expect similar protestations.

As for whether TV is the right medium for these lessons… well, I think it could be one of them, sure. If someone can find a great way to teach kids how to take care of our planet without the lobbyists all getting bent out of shape about it. Now that would really be something.

I love these sorts of things: TIME Magazine’s James Poniewozik has compiled a list of the 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME. It’s possible that I love these things partially because of their subjective nature and the brouhaha they tend to spawn in their wakes, but also because I’m always fascinated to see what sorts of cultural phenomena we can all point to and agree that “Yes, that has to be on the list.”

Leaving no base uncovered, Poniewozik even includes an explanation of how he made his choices, which is pretty interesting in and of itself. The bottom line, of course, is that it’s his list and his rules, but the guiding principles and his overall humor seem sound enough to me:

Those are my rules; I took them seriously, and broke most of them at least once. Ultimately, I also had to realize that this isn’t the Periodic Table of the Elements; it is a freaking top-100 list. It is hopefully well-informed, but it is not inherently more correct than your top-100 list. Lists are meaningless: they sell magazines and give you something to talk about at the bar. Lists are incredibly important: they are how we define what matters to us, what we want entertainment and art to do, what we expect of our culture.

Most of all, lists are about having fun and picking fights. If you have read my list and think I am a moron, that’s all the thanks I need.

(At the very least, he sounds like someone that’d be plenty fun to watch TV with, no?)

Anyway. The most notable surprise to me is the relative paucity of children’s shows on the list; the kiddie favorites included number only four: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, Rocky and His Friends, and Sesame Street. (I am counting only these four as truly kid-appropriate shows. Things like The Simpsons and Beavis and Butt-Head I am considering older fare.)

If it was my list (yeah, yeah—I know, it’s his list) and I could include what I consider other kid notables, I’d have to have The Muppet Show on there at a bare minimum. There are others I’d want to include that maybe I couldn’t quite make an airtight argument for (like Super Friends), but c’mon, the Muppets are a no-brainer.

Hit me with your thoughts; what other kiddie classics are missing?

Hey, do you remember when I first mentioned that Justice League is being made into a live-action movie? No? Hey, that’s alright. I barely remember, myself… seeing as how that was back at the beginning of March.

So what’s been happening in the last six months? Details have been few and far between, and Obsessed With Film has the latest:

From our initial casting scoop I speculated that the movie might lens in Canada due to the presence of more offices up there than in the US, however it looks like that won’t be the case.

Thanks to info sent to us, primarily from an OWF reader in the Australian film community, we’ve now got several more bits of Justice League information to share with you:

The studio has greenlit the project as their summer 2009 tentpole. Filming for the principals will take place in Sydney from February to June 2008 – George Miller was unsurprisingly listed as director in the info we got.

Auditions are starting up down under with Nikki Barrett (Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, The Proposition) hired to handle the casting in Australia. Ronna Kress (Beowulf, The Mummy 3) will oversee the entire casting process.

Oscar-winner Barrie M. Osborne (The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix) will take on producing duties; he’ll be joined by Miller’s partner Doug Mitchell.

Things seem to be pulling sharply into focus as the weeks progress, and with Osborne they have a top A-list producer who’s ideal to make a film of this size… but it’d still be nice to hear some official word from the studio.

Wait, all of this has been unofficial? You’d think they’d be hyping the heck out of this project. Instead, it’s “they’re in Canada!” and “No, wait, they’re in Australia!” and fans hanging on by their fingernails to hear more. Why all the secrecy? Well, OWF has that figured out as well:

I find Warners’ secrecy frustrating because, after all, they are just a movie studio making a comic film and not the CIA planning to take down a terrorist cell. However there’s a myriad of DC Comics films that have crumbled in various stages of production so the they have reason to be overly cautious with this one.

Makes sense, I suppose.

And I’m not convinced that the CIA isn’t involved. This is the Justice League, after all….

My kids absolutely loved Little Bill when they were little. What’s not to like? Little Bill is the youngest of three kids; he has a pet mouse named Elephant and lots of friends at school and a grandmother he calls Alice the Great. He’s a goofy, likable kid who is just like kids they know and yet not. It’s got all the ingredients for a perfect kids’ show.

Anyway, the was most recently showing over at Nick Jr., but after a hiatus is now making the move over to Noggin, starting today:

Cosby announced last week that his animated series, “Little Bill,” which is aimed at getting preschoolers interested in learning, is returning to television on cable’s Noggin network. It previously was part of the Nickelodeon cable network’s “Nick Jr.” programming bloc for preschoolers.

In an era where the education reform act No Child Left Behind dominates education, the comedian complained recently, “The high school dropout rate in some cities is as high as 55 to 75 percent. While the behinds are moving forward, some of the minds are left behind.”

Beginning Monday, Cosby’s show will air weekdays on Noggin at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. EDT. It will be broadcast at 1:30 p.m. EDT on the weekends.

I don’t know if watching Little Bill is going to prevent children from being left behind, but it’s certainly likely to hold your preschooler’s attention long enough for you to go check your email and maybe make some lunch….

Have you been to the Habbo Hotel lately? No? Me neither, actually. My kids are still in the stage of life where they think that Webkinz are the be-all and end-all of online entertainment. (Yes. The dawn of the technology boom as we know it was predicated on Cash Cow, I am sure of it.)

But apparently Habbo is the place to be for teens who want a fun virtual environment. It’s part instant messenger, part arcade… I could be wrong, but from my quick exploration of it, it sort of seems like Second Life Lite.

Here’s the interesting thing, though—Habbo is hosting an animation contest with real prizes:

Habbo announced today the kickoff of the first worldwide Habbowood Digital Movie Awards 2007. Using the Habbowood MovieMaker tool, aspiring filmmakers are invited to take the director’s chair and create, star in and share their own animated movies in hopes of winning a Habbowood Award. For the first time ever, after claiming the top prize in Habbo.com, the winning film will be entered into a global contest against the winners from 18 other Habbo communities around the world to compete for a grand prize trip for two to Hollywood.

Available now on Habbo (www.habbo.com) for free, the MovieMaker tool is a comprehensive editing device that allows users to select from a wide range of virtual sets, props, special effects and mood music; cast Habbo “actors” and script dialogue to build scenes. Up to ten different scenes can then be combined using the MovieMaker tool to create an animated film up to five minutes long.

For the next ten days, the Habbo community, which numbers more than 15 million registered users in the U.S., will select the ten top films through a combination of page views and scaled ratings. Each day, the Habbo staff will choose a winner from this top 10 to comprise the final nominees which the Habbo community will vote on to select the Habbowood Award winner. The winner will be announced and special awards, such as Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actor and Best Actress, will be presented live in the Theaterdome during the virtual Habbowood Digital Movie Awards gala, on Sept. 21, 2007, starting at 4:00 pm (PDT)/7:00 pm (EDT).

That’s… well, that’s pretty cool, actually. And I think it says something about how important animation is to our kids (even into their teens) that this Habbowood thing has become such a big deal. Don’t believe me?

Habbo.com opened its doors to Habbowood three years ago. Last year, the hugely popular US movie contest garnered more than 140,000 animated short films. On a global level, Habbowood generated more than 700,000 movies last year.

That’s a whole lotta animatin’ going on, right there.

Go on… if you don’t already have big plans for this weekend (you know you don’t), take a trip to Habbowood. There’s bound to be a film or two worth watching, and maybe you’ll want to create your own. Er, maybe your kids will want to create their own, I mean. Right.

Perhaps you know this scenario all too well: There is a boy—perhaps a small boy—who lives in your house and loves Avatar: The Last Airbender. Perhaps you have several (ten) episodes of the show saved to the recording device of your choice. And perhaps after each episode is viewed you try to delete it from said recording device, but the boy in question goes into paroxysms of agony when you suggest such a thing, because, “Moooooooom! There aren’t any new ones! I need these!”

This is purely hypothetical, of course. Ahem.

Anyway, if you happen to identify with my completely made-up situation, here, you will be thrilled to learn that Avatar’s third season is just two weeks away:

The Avatar finally awakens after his life-threatening battle at Ba Sing Se to find that he has a full head of hair and a burning desire to finally defeat the Firelord. The epic third season of Nickelodeon’s hit series from creator’s Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, Avatar: The Last Airbender, will premiere Friday, September 21 at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT). In support of this premiere, Nicktoons Networks will air mini marathons of Avatar seasons one and two from Monday, September 17 at 2:00 p.m. (ET) through Thursday, September 20. New episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender will continue to premiere with new episodes in its regular timeslot on Fridays at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.

Oh, thank goodness. I need that room on the DVR for the new season of Grey’s Anatomy. Er, I mean, it’s exciting that we’re finally going to get to see what comes next. Although… a full head of hair? Check out that picture—I sort of miss him being bald.

In the season three premiere of Avatar, “The Awakening,” Aang wakes up to find himself aboard a captured Fire Nation ship after sustaining serious injuries at the end of season two. Katara, Sokka, and their father are with him and they recount the events that led the four to the ship and how they plan to attack the Fire Nation. Aang struggles to fight his own instincts to face the Firelord before he is ready, but ultimately accepts that he needs time to heal and regain his strength. Meanwhile, Zuko is dealing with his own issues as he journeys home for first time in three years, fearing his father will reject him once again.

In all seriousness, I may be a little more pumped about this season than I’m willing to admit in adult company. I love the Zuko storyline; it’s sort of like a little soap opera inside the overall Avatar story. I may have managed to wean myself off the show for the summer, but the new season is going to rein me right back in again. Much to my son’s delight.

You may have noticed that the Avatar Store at Ty’s Toy Box has had a face-lift, too. Just in case you need to pick up a little something-something to celebrate the new season. You’re welcome.

Long ago and far away, I was a young girl with a topsy-turvy doll. It was Little Red Riding Hood on one end, and flipped, it was Grandma on one side with the Big Bad Wolf dressed in her clothing on the other.

I thought it was the greatest toy ever.

This preface is to demonstrate that I am somewhat new to the world of what makes any given action figure “cool.” Thank goodness I have my son to show me the way. For example: He owns a Martian Manhunter figure which he assures me is the greatest thing ever, because his head comes off. I have to admit that that’s a fine feature, indeed.

Well, now I no longer have to rely only on my son (who—I have it on good authority—has a mean mother who refuses to buy him everything he wants) as my sole source of information on the coolness of action figures. Now I can consult ToyFare’s assessment of the 100 best action figures of the past decade.

Number 1 comes as no surprise to anyone, of course:

1. 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime
Hasbro, 2004 $95/$45 (Grey Gun) $90/$40 (Black Gun)
In the toy hierarchy, one figure stands alone. He can command the attention of any room. He’s a model of design. He’s even been known to sway a toy-apathetic girlfriend or two. We cried when he died in the animated movie. Hell, one random dude even changed his name after him.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Transformers, Hasbro released the ne plus ultra (that’s French for “awesomest”) Optimus Prime, with enough detail to make even the most demanding fan gooey with lust. His appendages bend and contort with ease, while a switch on the back of his head allows his “mouth” to move. Flip open his chest plate and marvel at the Matrix of Leadership, a glowing blue ball of light that means he’s the boss. And did we mention he turns into a truck?

As the “Prime” example of the potential in toys, he’s the model to which all other playthings should aspire.

What did surprise me was some of the other entries. To name a few: “Adventure Kermit” comes in at number 15 (your favorite muppet frog goes all Indiana Jones), the Swedish Chef at number 25 and Fozzie Bear at number 38 (who knew muppet action figures were so cool?), The Simpsons Stephen Hawking figure at number 70 (his wheelchair comes with a boxing glove and helicopter rotors), and my personal favorite:

21. Super Grover
Sesame Street, Palisades Toys, 2005 (E: 2005 cons) $50/$15
If the sight of Grover dressed in a cape doesn’t give you the warm fuzzies, you might as well get a job euthanizing puppies, you monster. Bonus: a telephone booth and Clark Kent-esque nerd clothes!

Who knew there were so many cool figures out there? Not me. And I’m sure it was just an oversight that there aren’t any Ben 10 figures on the list. I mean, seriously. Even an old square like me knows that Kevin 11 about as cool as it gets. I mean, short of being Super Grover.

If you have preschoolers, and you haven’t yet encountered Sheira and Loli’s Dittydoodle Works, you will. Now showing on PBS stations across the country, the show is making a splash amongst the juicebox set.

Their site characterizes the show this way:

“Sheira and Loli’s Dittydoodle Works” is a multiple award-winning and New York Emmy-nominated preschool series based on rag doll twins Sheira and Loli. These engaging and energetic twins take kids on a magical, musical journey through their factory that produces fun, Dittydoodle Works.

Sheira and Loli, along with their lovable and colorful friends: Professor Eeky Eeky Kronk, Miss Molly; the Funkins (Bluedles and Pink-a-Dink); Doodles the Crayon and Zippy the Kwirk, help teach children important life lessons. Topics such as values, conflict resolution and basic cognitive reasoning skills are communicated through a combination of upbeat, original music, witty humor and vibrant visualizations.

Yeah, okay. I’ve yet to see a program website that didn’t claim their show to be awesome and innovative. What’s the real scoop?

Well, it turns out that the resumes of the folks behind Dittydoodle Works are pretty astounding. Check it out:

Sheira & Loli’s Dittydoodle Works features puppets created by experts from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and award-winning music written and performed by the real-life inspiration for the series’ main characters, twins Sheira and Leora “Loli” Brayer. The sisters are two-time winners of Billboard magazine’s National Songwriter’s Award, and their performances on Sheira & Loli’s Ditties for Little Kiddies-Volume #1, and Dittydoodle Works Celebrates the Holidays garnered two iParenting Media Awards. Dittydoodle Works is set in a magical musical factory where the only product is educational fun.

[…]

The creative team includes veterans of some of the most notable and award-winning productions to come out of Broadway, dance, film, and public and cable television. This multiple Emmy Award-winning team includes Mark Saltzman, a former writer at Sesame Street for nearly a decade; Alan Adelman, lighting designer of numerous television and stage productions, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Great Performances, Live from Lincoln Center, and more; and Dean Gordon of the popular PBS children’s series Between the Lions. Joseph Baker, one of Broadway’s most sought-after composers and arrangers, oversees the series’ music with Sheira Brayer. Baker has worked on such Broadway hits as Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Lion King.

Check your local PBS affiliate’s listings for showtimes, or look over here for a bit more information and an episode guide.

In the meantime, Ty’s Toy Box is pleased to announce the grand opening of their new Dittydoodle Works store, just in case your little ones aren’t satisfied with merely watching it on TV. Pick up a CD or four for the car, or one of the adorable plush dolls.

Just be warned: the songs are pretty catchy. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself humming some of those tunes even when the kids aren’t around….